Cysteamine permanent wave composition and method

ABSTRACT

A single formula, mild permanent wave reducing composition and method of permanently waving or reshaping human hair that provides a strong, long lasting curl and leaves the hair soft while minimizing further damage to already damaged hair. The composition contains a cysteamine reducing agent compound selected from the group consisting of cysteamine, a cysteamine salt, and mixtures thereof; preferably alone (without a monothioglycolate; a monothioglycolic acid ester, e.g., thioglycerol; a thiolactic acid; a sulfite; a hyposulfite, or a bisulfite second reducing agent). The cysteamine compound should be present in an amount of about 7.8% to about 9.0% by weight; and sufficient additional alkali, if necessary, to bring the pH of the composition to about 7.8 to about 8.5. Optionally, a hair softening and/or moisturizing agent, such as glycerine is included in the composition in an amount of about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the composition.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/096,364filed Jul. 22, 1993 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,426, which is a divisionalof U.S. Ser. No. 07/819,113 filed Jan. 10, 1992 now U.S. Pat. No.5,260,054.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a cysteamine-based composition andmethod for relatively permanently reshaping or curling human hair into alasting curl pattern. More particularly, the present invention isdirected to a composition and method capable of forming a "permanent"wave in human hair such that regardless of the condition of the hair,i.e., whether it be substantially undamaged or normal hair, tinted hair,frosted hair, bleached hair or hair substantially damaged as a result ofsome other prior hair treatment or environmental condition, thecomposition will permanently reshape both normal and damaged hair tosubstantially the same extent without the danger of overprocessing.Significantly, the composition does not require a compound added for thepurpose of establishing an equilibrium reaction with the reducing agent,e.g., a dithioglycolate, such as diammonium dithioglycolate, to preventoverprocessing of and damage to the hair. Further, the composition canbe applied repeatedly to the hair without significant damage so that thehair can be permed at least every 3 to 6 weeks to maintain a freshlooking perm without significant damage.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, permanent waving of human hair is achieved by chemicallybreaking the sulfur to sulfur or disulfide cystine bonds occurringnaturally in human hair and then reforming the cystine bonds while thehair is wrapped or curled on rods. The sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds inhuman hair maintain the hair in a naturally straight or curlyconfiguration and, in order to permanently reshape the hair into alasting, different configuration, a significant percentage of the sulfurto sulfur bonds must be broken and then reestablished after the hair isreconfigured in a desired position, such as wrapped around a suitablemandrel or roller. In general, the sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds arebroken with a composition containing a reducing agent and after the hairis wound into a curl formation around a rod or roller, the sulfur tosulfur cystine bonds are relinked or reestablished while the hair is inthe curl formation by contacting the hair in the new formation with anoxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide or a water-soluble bromate.

As set forth in German Offen. DE 3,631,991, others have used a reducingagent composition that is a combination of cysteamine, or its salts,together with a monothioglycolic acid ester for permanent hair waving(see CA Selects: Cosmetic Chemicals, Issue 1, 1989, 109: 236730h). Alsoan N-acylcysteamine HSCH₂ CH₂ NH--COR(R=2-10 C. alkyl), as a hairreducing compound, has been used together with another reducing agentselected from the group consisting of cysteine, acidic sodiumhyposulfite, sodium sulfite, thioglycerol and thiolactic acid, asdisclosed in Japanese Patent JP63146808. Similarly, published EuropeanPatent Application 88306449.5, publication number 0299764, discloses theuse of cysteamine as a reducing agent together with sulfite, bisulfiteand disulfide compounds, such as cystsmine, to effect reoxidation. Theuse of cystamine, as an oxidizing agent in the permanent waving process,is disclosed in Siuta-Mangano U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,629. Japanesepublished Patent Application No. 2053-714-A discloses cysteaminetogether with a dithioglycolate stop action compound.

The reducing action of mercaptans on keratin is due mostly to thedissociated form of the thiol groups, the thiolate anion. Acid permanentwaves sufficiently curl hair at a lower pH compared to alkalinepermanents because the waving agents in these permanents have low pKavalues and thus exist predominantly in dissociated (thiolate) format apH near neutral, or slightly acidic pH. Hence, the pKa value shows thatsome mercaptans are efficient at high pH while others with a low pKavalue and high ionization constant are efficient at lower pH values. Forexample, it is well known that the alkaline salts of thioglycolic acid,e.g., the ammonium salt of thioglycolic acid (pKa=10.4) has acceptablewaving efficiency only if the pH of solution exceeds 9, see Zviak,Charles, The Science of Hair Care, Permanent Waving and HairStraightening, p. 191, 1986; while amides such as thioglycolamide(pKa=8.4), and esters such as glycerol thioglycolate (pKa=7.8) giveacceptable waving efficiency at neutral and even slightly acid pH.

The cysteamine-based reducing agent-containing composition and method ofthe present invention preferably do not include a compound selected fromthe group consisting of a monothioglycolate; a dithioglycolate; amonothioglyolic acid ester, e.g., thioglycerol; a thiolactic acid; asulfite; and a hyposulfite, yet is unexpectedly effective in the pHrange of about 7.8 to about 8.5 and particularly in the pH range ofabout 8.0 to 8.3.

Different reducing agents are effective to break the cystine bonds thatcross link human hair protein at the different pHs. Generally speaking,the acid permanent wave compositions having a lower pH include reducingagents such as bisulfites, e.g., ammonium bisulfite, or glycerolmonothioglycolate, capable of breaking the sulfur to sulfur cystinebonds within lower pH ranges, whereas the alkaline permanent wavecompositions, having pHs in the range of about 7.5 to 9.5, require analkaline salt of thioglycolic acid--so that the alkali can penetrate andswell the hair shaft for easier penetration of the reducing agent inorder to break the sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds.

The use of diammonium dithiodiglycolate in acid or alkaline permanentwave lotions allows greater flexibility in processing time because itminimizes the possibility of overprocessing. This is due to the factthat the reaction of thioglycolic acid (TGA) with hair keratin is anequilibrium process. Thus by including diammonium dithiodiglycolate(oxidized TGA) in the wave lotion, the rate of the reaction of thethioglycolic acid with hair keratin is decreased and prevented fromgoing to completion.

Generally, the permanent wave compositions of the prior art do notinclude moisturizers, such as glycerine, since moisturizers cause lossof curl, as disclosed in Cannell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,820.

One of the biggest problems associated with the permanent waving processis due to human error in the person applying the permanent wavinglotion. If the reducing agent is applied to the hair shaft for the wrongperiod of time, too many or too few of the sulfur to sulfur bonds in thehair shaft are broken, resulting in seriously damaged hair or resultingin hair which has not been sufficiently treated to achieve a permanentwave with long lasting potential. Some of the reasons that the personapplying the permanent wave composition has difficulty in determiningthe correct amount of time for processing is that the reducing agentreaction in breaking the sulfur to sulfur bonds is dependent upon theamount of heat applied to the hair; the amount of time the reducingagent is in contact with the hair; the concentration of reducing agent;the pH of the lotion applied; and the condition of hair.

Perhaps the most difficult factor for the applier of the permanent wavelotion to assess in determining how long to apply the reducing agent tothe hair is the condition of the hair at the time of the permanent wave.It is well documented in the literature and prior art that the hair canbe damaged by abuse of chemicals, e.g., by shampooing, permanent waving,tinting, frosting, bleaching, and particularly any hair treatmentinvolving the use of hydrogen peroxide; mechanical treatment, e.g.,thermal appliances; and environmental conditions, e.g., climate andpollution. It is well known that damaged hair, depending upon the stageand degree of damage of the hair, has significantly different chemicalactivity to reducing agents than normal or undamaged hair. If too manyof the sulfur to sulfur bonds in the hair are broken by the reducingagent, the hair will be seriously weakened and may disintegrate.

It is theorized that somewhere in the range of about 20% to about 60% ofthe natural sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds in the hair shafts should bebroken in order to give the hair the capability of being reshaped to anydesired shape, such as curled around a rod or roller, and capable ofretaining this shape. If too few of the sulfur to sulfur bonds arebroken, the natural or normal configuration of the hair willpredominate, causing the hair to retain its previous shape. This isbecause the predominant prior or natural bonds in the hair dictate thatthe hair will remain in the old configuration or shape. Hydrogen bondsare physically broken when wet hair is stretched and wrapped around aroller. When the hair is dried, the hydrogen bonds are reformed in acurled position or shape. While the hydrogen bonds aid to maintain thehair in the new configuration, the sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds aremuch stronger and, to a much greater extent than the hydrogen bonds,control the efficacy of the permanent wave.

In order to successfully provide a satisfactory permanent wave in thehair, the sulfur to sulfur cystine bonds reformed in the hair in the newor curled configuration, when the hair is later oxidized with theneutralizing agent, should be stronger than the prior or natural cystinehair bonds. It is desired, therefore, when permanent waving, that enoughnew bonds in a new hair configuration are formed during permanent wavingto outweigh the number of old bonds remaining that tend to form the hairin its prior or natural configuration, whether it be straight ornaturally curled.

Since damaged hair already has a significant number of the sulfur tosulfur cystine bonds broken due to some chemical, mechanical orenvironmental abuse, particularly the chemical abuses, such asbleaching, tinting or frosting, it is difficult to determine what lengthof time, and what reducing agent concentration to apply to the hair toprovide the hair with the proper number of sulfur to sulfur bondsremaining after the reducing agent treatment. Significantly damagedhair, such as tinted hair, may require a reducing agent lotionapplication for a period of only about 5 minutes whereas a normal hair,not significantly damaged, may require the reducing agent lotion for aperiod of approximately 20 minutes under the same reducing agentconcentration and temperature in order to result in both the damaged andnormal hair having approximately the same curl configuration. Ideally,after the reducing agent treatment, every one of the hair shafts treatedwill contain the same ratio of broken to unbroken bonds so that thissame ratio can be reestablished in each hair shaft when the hair is inthe new configuration to provide a consistent strong curl over theentire head of hair.

Generally, the reducing agent lotion is applied to the hair by firstshampooing the hair and then applying the reducing agent lotion to thehair, either before or after the hair is wrapped around suitablerollers. Since it is not possible for even the experienced permanentwave applier to accurately determine visually the extent of damage tothe hair in order to have a better idea of how long the reducing agentshould be in contact with the hair, it is necessary to take a "testcurl" so that after a predetermined amount of time, for example 10minutes, a first roller is removed from the hair and the curl is feltand stretched in an attempt to determine if the curl formation is strongenough. Once it is determined that the reducing agent has been incontact with the hair for a sufficient time period, the hair is rinsedthoroughly with water while still on the rollers or rods and, while thehair remains on the rollers or rods, a neutralizing agent is applied tooxidize and reform the sulfur to sulfur bonds while the hair is in thenew, rolled configuration. The neutralizing agent contains an oxidizingagent, such as hydrogen peroxide or a bromate salt, in order toreestablish the sulfur to sulfur bonds to leave the hair in a relativelypermanent, e.g., 2-4 months, new configuration. The rods are removed,before or after rinsing out the neutralizing agent.

When the reducing agent lotion is applied to sections of the head priorto rolling that portion of the hair onto the rods it is called a lotionwrap whereas when the hair is rolled on the rods or rollers first andthen the lotion applied onto all of the hair after rolling, this iscalled a water wrap. The timing for the reducing agent to be in contactwith the hair for a lotion wrap is begun from the time that all rods areon the head, and the timing for a water wrap begins from the time thatthe lotion application is completed. The capability of using a waterwrap is clearly more desirable since the lotion is applied to the entirehead of hair all at once in a short period of time and can be rinsedfrom the hair all at once to provide a more uniform reducing agentcontact time for all of the hair.

Other prior art patents directed to permanent waving compositionsintended to permanently wave both normal and damaged hair are found inthe Klemm et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,143; and Cannel et al. U.S. Pat.No. 4,301,820. Japanese Patent No. 57-212110 appears to be directed to apost-permanent treatment containing glycerine to give hair sheen andluster.

Japanese published application No. 55-136857 teaches thatcysteamine-based permanent waving compositions are more effective withthioglycolic acid reducing agents.

In accordance with the present invention, a cysteamine-based permanentwave composition, without a thioglycolate or thioglycolic acid, isprovided in a single formula which can be applied in a singlepredetermined amount of time to the hair, regardless of the structure ofthe hair, whether it be damaged or not, and this composition is capableof being water wrapped or lotion wrapped without the use of a dryer,hair caps or other heat treatment to speed the reducing agent action.

Prior art alkaline compositions containing a salt of thioglycolic acidas a reducing agent are known to produce a tight curl but leave the hairfeeling harsh due to the high alkalinity content. Prior art acid wavecompositions containing glycerol monothioglycolate as a reducing agentrequire the mixing of the reducing agent into a separate lotionimmediately prior to use since glycerol monothioglycolate will hydrolyzein contact with water and, therefore, must be kept separate untilimmediately prior to use. Further, the acid wave compositions generallyrequire heat to help swell the hair for reaction with the reducing agentsince the hair is not normally swelled sufficiently at the low pH of theacid wave compositions. The cysteamine-based reducing agent compositionsof the prior art require the use of a compound selected from amonothioglycolate; a dithiodiglycolate; a monothioglycolic acid ester,e.g., glyceryl monothioglycolate; thioglycerol; a thiolactic acid; asulfite, a hyposulfite, or a bisulfite. The cysteamine-based reducingagent-containing permanent wave compositions of the present inventionsolve the above mentioned prior art deficiencies without containing anysubstantial amount, and preferably without any, of a monothioglycolate;a dithiodiglycolate; a monothioglycolic acid ester, e.g., thioglycerol;a thiolactic acid; a sulfite; a hyposulfite; a hyposulfite, or abisulfite.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In brief, the present invention is directed to a single formula, mildpermanent wave reducing composition and method of permanently waving orreshaping human hair that provides a strong, long lasting curl andleaves the hair soft while minimizing further damage to already damagedhair. Generally, the composition contains a cysteamine reducing agentcompound selected from the group consisting of cysteamine, a cysteaminesalt, and mixtures thereof; preferably alone (without amonothioglycolate; a monothioglycolic acid ester, e.g., thioglycerol; athiolactic acid; a sulfite; a hyposulfite, or a bisulfite secondreducing agent). The cysteamine compound should be present in an amountof about 7.8% to about 9.0%, preferably about 7.8% to about 8.5% byweight; and sufficient additional alkali, if necessary, to bring the pHof the composition to about 7.8 to about 8.5. Optionally, a hairsoftening and/or moisturizing agent, such as glycerine is included inthe composition in an amount of about 0.1% to about 20% by weight,preferably about 0.1% to about 15% by weight of the composition. Thiscomposition is easy to use and apply without the use of amonothioglycolate; a dithioglycolate; a monothioglycolic acid ester,e.g., thioglycerol; a thiolactic acid; a sulfite; a hyposulfite, or abisulfite and without damaging the hair while providing a strong, tightcurl and leaving the hair unexpectedly soft. The composition can belotion or water wrapped and can be used with or without heat.Unexpectedly, the composition is applied to any type of hair, regardlessof structural damage to the hair, resulting in the same degree of curltightness and softness and can be applied much more frequently thanprior art permanent wave compositions without significant damage to thehair.

Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved permanent wave composition capable of breaking sulfur to sulfurbonds in human hair so that the hair can be reconfigured in a differentconfiguration. The sulfur to sulfur human hair bonds can bereestablished with an oxidizing agent to maintain the new hairconfiguration for a substantial time period.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedpermanent wave lotion containing a reducing agent capable of breakingsulfur to sulfur hair bonds without causing further significant damageto tinted, frosted, bleached or other substantially damaged hair.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedcysteamine-based permanent wave reducing agent composition that includesessentially no monothioglycolate; dithiodiglycolate; monothioglycolicacid ester, e.g., thioglycerol; thiolactic acid; sulfite; hyposulfite,or bisulfite that is capable of breaking sulfur to sulfur human hairbonds leaving normal and damaged hair with approximately the same ratioof broken to unbroken sulfur to sulfur bonds when contacted with thecomposition for the same time period so that the same degree of curltightness can be achieved in both normal and damaged hair.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a permanent wavereducing agent-containing composition including a hair softening andmoisturizing agent that enhances the curl achieved with the composition.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of the preferredembodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a graph showing the waving efficiencies of a number of wavinglotion versus number of times the hair was processed with each wavinglotion;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing the liquid retention of normal hair waved onetime compared to the same hair waved three times with various wavinglotions to determine the percent change in liquid retention; and

FIG. 3 is a graph, similar to FIG. 2, showing the liquid retention oftinted hair waved one time compared to the same hair waved three times,with various waving lotions, to determine the percent change in liquidretention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is directed to a permanent wave compositioncapable of permanently waving both damaged and undamaged hair in asingle formulation, water-wrap, applied for a constant processing timeas a mild permanent that produces a tight, long lasting curl formationand can be applied frequently without significant hair damage. Thecapability of permanently waving both damaged and undamaged hairrepeatedly with a single formulation in a single processing time withoutrequiring a test curl, without causing further damage to the hair, istotally unique in the industry and removes all room for error from theperson applying the permanent wave lotion.

The composition of the present invention is a single formula, mild,alkaline permanent wave conditioning composition capable of waving orreshaping human hair and provides a strong, long lasting curl withoutfurther damaging already damaged hair. Generally, the compositioncontains a cysteamine compound selected from the group consisting ofcysteamine, a cysteamine salt, and mixtures in an amount of about 7.8%by weight to about 9.0% by weight, particularly about 8% to about 8.6%by weight. In another embodiment, the reducing agent composition has apH in the range of about 7.8 to about 8.5, and particularly about 8.0 toabout 8.3. Preferably, the reducing composition also includes a hairmoisturizer and/or softener selected from a polyhydroxyl alkyl compound,a polyalkylene glycol glycerol ether, an ethoxylated fatty alcohol, afatty alcohol polymerized ether, and mixtures thereof in an amount ofabout 0.1% to about 20% by weight, particularly about 0.1% to about 15%by weight.

Optionally, the composition of the present invention includes aconditioner to improve the combing and manageability of the hair.Particularly, suitable conditions are the polymeric quaternary ammoniumsalts, such as Polyquaternium 1 through Polyquaternium 14, inclusive,conditioners defined on page 245, CTFA Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary,Third Edition, 1982, hereby incorporated by reference. The preferredconditioners are Polyquaternium-4, Polyquaternium-10 andPolyquaternium-11. The conditioner, when added, is included in an amountof about 0.01% to about 2.0% by weight of the composition.

Other common cosmetic additives can be incorporated into the compositionof the present invention, as long as the basic properties of thepermanent wave composition are not substantially adversely affected.These additives include, but are not limited to, commonly usedfragrances, dyes, opacifiers, pearlescing agents, thickeners, foamstabilizers, preservatives, water softening agents, acids, bases,buffers and the like; and will usually be present in weight percentagesof less than about 1% each, and about 2% to about 5% in total. Thecomposition vehicle is predominantly water but organic solvents also canbe added to the composition in order to solubilize compounds that arenot sufficiently soluble in water. Suitable solvents include the loweralcohols, such as ethanol and isopropanol and mixtures. These solventscan be present in the hair setting composition of the present inventionin an amount from about 1% to about 75% by weight and in particular fromabout 5% to about 50% by weight, based on the total weight of thecomposition.

The composition optionally can be thickened, for example, with sodiumalginate, gum arabic, cellulose derivatives such as methylcellulose,hydroxyethylcellulose, hydroxypropylmethylcellulose andcarboxymethylcellulose, and various polymeric thickeners, such asacrylic acid derivatives. It is also possible to use inorganicthickeners, such as bentonite. These thickeners, when included,preferably are present in an amount from about 0.1% to about 10% byweight and, in particular, from about 0.5% to about 3% by weight, basedon the total weight of the composition.

The composition has the pH in the range of about 7.8 to about 8.5. Toachieve the full advantage of the present invention, the composition hasa pH of about 8.0 to 8.3 for best curl retention when cold waved. ThispH can be achieved by the addition of an alkanolamine, ammonia, anammonium carbonate, or a metal hydroxide to the composition of thepresent invention.

Moisturizers enhance the curl formation of the permanent wavecomposition of the present invention. The use of polyhydric alcohols orpolyhydroxy alkane compounds, such as ethylene glycol, glycerine,propylene glycol, or polyoxyethylene glyceryl ether in this compositionleave the hair in better condition due to humectant properties andsurprisingly does not compromise curl formation, but provides the hairwith a more uniform and natural curl.

These moisturizers are selected from the group consisting ofpolyhydroxyalkyl compounds, particularly alkylene glycols andpolyalkylene glycols, and especially ethylene glycol and thepolyethylene glycols; propylene glycol and the polypropylene glycols;polyethylene glycol glyceryl ethers; ethoxylated fatty alcohols; andfatty alcohol polyglycol ethers. Examples of suitable moisturizersinclude glycols and triols such as glycerine, ethylene glycol, propyleneglycol, 1,3-butylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol, 1,5-pentanediol,2-methyl pentanediol-2,4, and 2-ethyl hexanediol-1,3. Further examplesof suitable moisturizers include the polyalkylene glycols, such as thosecompounds having the formula ##STR1## wherein R is H or CH₃, and n hasan average value of 2 to 600; when R═H, particularly suitablemoisturizers have n in the range of 4 to 600; and when R═CH₃,particularly suitable moisturizers have n in the range of 2 to 34. Thepolyalkylene glycols that can be used as moisturizers in the permanentwave composition of the present invention are exemplified by, but notlimited to, compounds such as polyethylene glycol 200; polyethyleneglycol 400; polyethylene glycol 600; polypropylene glycol 150;tetraethylene glycol; and dipropylene glycol.

Examples of other suitable moisturizers include the polyethylene glycolglyceryl ethers, such as polyethylene glycol 600 glyceryl ether andpolyethylene glycol 26 glyceryl ether. Furthermore, the ethoxylatednonyl phenols and ethoxylated octyl phenols, particularly nonoxynol, C₉H₁₉ C₆ H₄ (OCH₂ CH₂)_(n) --OH wherein n averages at least 6 and up toabout 100; and octoxynol, C₈ H₁₇ S₆ H₄ (OCH₂ CH₂)_(n) --OH, wherein naverages at least 7 and up to about 40, also are suitable moisturizersfor use in the composition of the present invention. Suitableethoxylated fatty alcohols for use as moisturizers in the composition ofthe present invention include compounds having the formula R--(OCH₂CH₂)_(n) OH, wherein R is an alkyl group containing from about 12 toabout 30 carbon atoms and n averages at least 6. In addition, fattyalcohol polyglycol ethers having the formula ##STR2## wherein R is analkyl group containing from about 8 to about 18 carbon atoms, n=0 to 6,m=0 to 6, and n+m is at least 6, also are useful as moisturizers in thecomposition of the present invention.

The composition of the present invention is easy to use and apply,repeatedly, without damaging the hair while providing a strong, tightcurl and leaving the hair unexpectedly soft. The composition can belotion or water wrapped and can be used with or without heat.Unexpectedly, the composition is applied to any type of hair, regardlessof structure damage to the hair, resulting in the same degree of curltightness and softness.

It is most surprising in the art that the composition of the presentinvention is capable of treating both normal and damaged hair,particularly tinted hair and bleached hair, in a single formula, using anon-critical processing time for both normal and damaged hair andrequires neither a test curl to determine the processing time nor adryer to fix the processing time while capable of repeated applicationswithout significant hair damage.

The cysteamine-based waving lotion composition of the present inventionwas compared to other common reducing agents including: ammoniumthioglycolate (ATG), glycerylmonothioglycolate (GMT), cysteine anddithiotreitol. To determine waving efficiency, the tresses weresubjected to a curl waving procedure described hereinafter keeping thepH constant and varying the concentration of the active ingredient. In asecond series of experiments the concentration was kept constant and thepH was varied. Under similar, experimental conditions, hair damage wasmeasured using "aggressivity factor" and also using a new techniquecalled Mercury tagging whereby hair reduction is measured by tagging thereduced sites of the hair and photographing the cross sections underelectron microscopy (SEM). The results of these tests are shown below.

In the "aggressivity factor" test, it can be seen that with ATG and GMTat a constant concentration, when pH is varied, the aggressivity factorgets bigger versus time indicating that the damage done to the hair isprogressively worse. Similarly, when the pH is kept constant and theconcentration is varied, hair damage gets progressively worse.

With cysteamine, it was found that the aggressivity factor leveled offwithin a relatively narrow pH or concentration range and was not aslinear as the other reducing agents, indicating that damage to the hairdoes not get worse when hair is exposed to increasing concentrations orpH of the waving lotion. The cysteamine wave lotion used was notbuffered and did not have any stop action ingredients.

These findings were confirmed via SEM pictures where the number ofreduced sites on the hair fiber were tagged. With ATG and GMT,increasing the pH or concentration increased the number of reduced sitesbut with cysteamine, there was substantially little or no change withincreased pH or concentration.

Waving efficiencies were determined keeping the pH constant and varyingthe concentration and also keeping the concentration constant andvarying the pH. The waving efficiency of ATG and GMT was a function ofpH and concentration. However, with cysteamine, the waving efficiencyincreased with pH only up to a pH of 8.0. Between 8.0 and 9.0 the wavingefficiency of cysteamine was relatively constant. Similarly, within themolar concentrations of 0.60 to 0.80, the waving efficiencies ofcysteamine were constant and did not increase.

These unexpected findings, with cysteamine, namely constant performanceover a relatively narrow pH and concentration range, led to thediscovery of further benefits for cysteamine. With conventional wavingagents, it is well known in the art to change the concentration and/orpH when waving hair with different degrees of damage. For example, whenpreparing a formula for bleached hair, formulators will lower theaggressiveness of the active ingredient by lowering its pH orconcentration. Since the performance of cysteamine did not change overthe narrow pH and concentration range, further experiments wereperformed using the same formula (without changing concentration or pH)using normal hair (relatively undamaged) and bleached hair (hairbleached with a mixture of ammonium persulfate, alkaline salts and 20volume percent hydrogen peroxide having a higher degree of damagepercent). Again, surprisingly, it was found that the same formulacontaining 0.73 molar concentration of cysteamine, at a pH of 8.4, wavesnormal, tinted and bleached hair without causing excessive damage tobleached hair.

The next series of experiments was done to determine if hair could berepeatedly permed with cysteamine and to measure the effect on curlformation and damage. To determine the effect of multiple waving on hairtresses, a set of hair swatches was repeatedly waved (10 times) usingcysteamine, ATG, GMT and water (as control). As seen in the FIG. 1graph, the waving efficiency of conventional reducing agents decreaseswith repeated perms, as expected. However, with cysteamine, the wavingefficiencies were relatively unaffected even after perming hair 10times.

The results of this test were further confirmed on growing hair in asalon. A group of 13 experimental clients was permed with cysteamine anda second group of 11 experimental clients were treated with a leadingacid perm. All clients were permed twice with only 6 weeks between thetwo perm treatments. After the second perm, the clients' hair was gradedby licensed cosmetologists. Hair breakage was graded on a scale of 1-5(1 lowest, 5 highest). In the group that was penned with the acid perm,5 out of 11 clients showed some degree of breakage and the averagebreakage was rated at 0.55. In the cysteamine waved group, one model outof 13 showed any breakage, and the average breakage was rated as 0.04.These differences were calculated to be significant at the 98%confidence level.

Hair damage was also measured analytically in the laboratory by atechnique called Liquid Retention. The principle involved in the LiquidRetention test is based on the fact that damaged hair becomes moreporous and absorbs more moisture. The greater the amount of moisturepicked up by the hair, the greater the damage. Moisture pick up (LiquidRetention) was measured on hair that was waved once or three times withcysteamine; a leading acid wave; and a leading alkaline wave. As can beseen in the FIG. 2 graph, there was no significant increase in theamount of moisture picked up by hair which was waved one time and threetimes with cysteamine. However, with the acid and alkaline waved hair,the moisture pick up after three wavings was significantly greater thanone time waved hair. Similar results were obtained on tinted hair, asshown in the graph of FIG. 3.

Without being bound to any particular theory, cysteamine, within theconcentration and pH ranges shown below, has some unexpected properties,namely, minimal damage and good curl efficacy. This may be attributed tothe amine functionality of the molecule.

    ______________________________________                                        FORMULATION         % W/W                                                     ______________________________________                                        Cysteamine HCl      7.8-9.0                                                   Ammonium Hydroxide  q.s. to pH 7.8-8.8                                        Nonoxynol-15        0.90                                                      (Igepal CO-730)                                                               (fragrance solubilizer)                                                       Fragrance           0.30                                                      Water               q.s. to 100                                               ______________________________________                                    

When cysteamine HC1 is used below 7.8% w/w active, the productperformance measured as curl efficacy is not adequate and above 9.0 w/wthe product, while it performs well, becomes too irritating to the skin.Similarly, below pH 7.8 cysteamine performance is not adequate and at apH beyond 8.8, the composition is too irritating to the skin. The newand unexpected results described herein are only obtained within thisnarrow range of concentration and pH.

Many modifications and variations of the invention as hereinbefore setforth can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereofand, therefore, only such limitations should be imposed as are indicatedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A composition capable of breaking sulfur tosulfur bonds in human hair when in contact with said human hair so thatsaid hair can be reconfigured in a predetermined configuration,comprising an aqueous solution of a cysteamine in an amount of at leastabout 7.8% by weight and in an amount sufficient, at the pH of thecomposition, to provide cysteamine thiolate anions in solution in aconcentration of at least about 0.2 Molar to about 0.6 Molar.
 2. Thecomposition of claim 1 further including a polyhydric moisturizerselected from the group consisting of polyhydroxyalkyl compounds;polyalkylene glycols; glyceryl ether compounds; ethoxylated fattyalcohols; ethoxylated alkyl phenols; fatty alcohol polyglycol ethercompounds; and mixtures thereof.
 3. The composition of claim 1, whereinthe cysteamine is included in an amount of about 7.8% to about 9.0% byweight of the composition.
 4. The composition of claim 3, wherein thecysteamine is cysteamine hydrochloride.
 5. The composition of claim 2,wherein the moisturizer is glycerine or a polyalkylene glycol ether ofglycerine having an average ethoxylation value of 5 to
 50. 6. Thecomposition of claim 1 further including a quaternary ammoniumconditioning compound in an amount of about 0.1% to about 2.0% by weightof composition.
 7. The composition of claim 1, wherein the cysteamine isincluded in the composition in an amount of about 0.71 Molar to about0.82 Molar.
 8. A method of breaking sulfur to sulfur bonds in human hairto leave the hair weakened so that it can be reconfigured to apredetermined configuration, while minimizing further damage to damagedhair, including contacting the hair for a predetermined amount of timewith an aqueous cysteamine reducing agent-containing compositioncomprising at least about 7.8% by weight of a cysteamine reducing agentand at a pH to provide dissociated cysteamine thiolate anions in thecysteamine reducing agent-containing composition in a concentration inthe range of about 0.2 Molar to about 0.6 Molar,; forming the hair in adesired configuration such that the hair is in contact with the reducingagent-containing composition while formed in the new configuration; andthen removing most of the reducing agent-containing composition from thehair.
 9. The method of claim 8 further including wrapping a plurality ofhuman hair sections around a plurality of mandrels to reconfigure thehair sections in a plurality of curl configurations such that the hairis curl-configured while in contact with the reducing agent-containingcomposition; and removing the mandrels sequentially after saidpredetermined time period without testing the hair from one of the firstremoved mandrels for curl tightness.
 10. The method of claim 8, whereinthe composition includes a polyhydric moisturizer in an amount of about0.1% to about 20% by weight of the composition.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the polyhydric moisturizer is selected from the groupconsisting of polyhydroxyalkyl compounds; polyalkylene glycols; glycerylether compounds; ethoxylated fatty alcohols; ethoxylated alkyl phenols;and fatty alcohol polyglycol ether compounds; or mixtures thereof. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the cysteamine is included in an amountof about 8.0% to about 8.6% by weight of the composition.
 13. Thecomposition of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the cysteamine isin the range of about 7.8% to about 9.0% by weight.
 14. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the concentration of the cysteamine is in the range ofabout 7.8% to about 9.0% by weight.
 15. The method of claim 8, whereinthe concentration of the cysteamine is in the range of about 0.71 Molarto about 0.82 Molar.